It seems that Missouri wants to live up to its state nickname, by proposing to pass a requirement that prospective voters not merely show identification, but actual proof of citizenship not only to vote, but to register to vote.
Obviously, much publicity has surrounded the Supreme Court’s recent upholding of Indiana’s stringent photo identification law for voters, a rule which excluded a dozen nuns from voting there, but the war-to-make-sure-that-the-majority-will-never-prevails continues.
The beauty of the current initiative in Missouri is that, unlike the usual photo-i.d. initiatives that seem almost designed to favor “hard working WHITE Americans” (thanks for the expression Hillary) at the expense of, well, non-White Americans, the Missouri initiative can pretend that it is targeted at those pesky illegal aliens, who over the course of years, have voted in American elections by the… dozens? Kind of like the vast voter fraud driving i.d. laws… of which there seems to be no record. I know… details, details…
But you get the idea. At some point, of course, the government might just have to issue all of us a national i.d. card as a matter of national security that will solve these problems, and, rather than have Big Brother implications, it may well prove to be the only effective way we have of preserving our democracy. Because of which, we can probably rest assured that we will not have to suffer the indignity of any kind of national i.d. card (national security be damned).
In Missouri anyway, you’ll just have to listen to that poll-gatekeeper, when he or she says “show me” those papers, unless of course, the voters of Missouri realize this for the mean-spirited disenfranchisement device it is, and send the proposed measure to a deserved ignominious defeat. THAT, I suppose is something that you will have to show me.
tdog
This is another attempt at forcing the United States citizens to submit to the READ ID card. The only card I know of that displays your country of origin is the REAL ID card. Sickening tactic indeed.
I feel like Diogenes with his lantern, searching for an honest man. I’m taking a tour of the leftist blogs’ responses to this proposed Missouri statute, looking for a single leftist who has the intellectual integrity to acknowledge that a flood of illegal immigrants voting Democratic is the real issue here, and that Republicans have every reason to be concerned about it. I haven’t found one yet.
The Talking Dog gets 10% credit for at least mentioning that that’s what Republicans “pretend.” I guess you didn’t get the memo from the Mother Ship that you’re not even supposed to acknowledge this.
Leftists are the most dishonest human beings on the planet.
I agree with you as far as not wanting a national ID card, but I just can’t take the “disenfranchisement” argument seriously – assuming that they are in fact US citizens, how is obtaining a photo ID or birth certificate more of a burden for “non-White Americans” than anyone else?
I read the articles you linked to, and the premise seems to be that since there’s supposedly no “documented” cases of in-person voter fraud in Indiana, it doesn’t exist. Yeah, right! It may not be “documented”, but everyone knows that JFK wouldn’t have won the 1960 Presidential election without the massive voter fraud that occurred in Chicago that year. And according to this article: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hqW0RRWaY4daEG167CZIwy5UXgHQD90H2GNG0 (sorry, but I don’t know how to post a link here) there’s a long history of election fraud right next door in Gary indiana – now, if the people who count the votes are committing fraud themselves, that pretty much explains why there aren’t any “documented” cases of voter fraud, don’t you think?
I almost always agree with your criticism of the government, Dog, but not this time. Requiring voters to show a photo ID that the state will provide free of charge, is hardly a “mean spirited disenfranchisement device”.
Here’s the actual text of Missouri’s Voter ID amendment:
JOINT RESOLUTION
Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri, an amendment to article VIII of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting one new section relating to voter identification.
——————————————————————————–
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring therein:
That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2008, or at a special election to be called by the governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or rejection, the following amendment to article VIII of the Constitution of the state of Missouri:
Section A. Article VIII, Constitution of Missouri, is amended by adding one new section, to be known as section 8, to read as follows:
Section 8. Any person seeking to vote in a public election shall establish his or her qualifications as a citizen of the state of Missouri lawfully present in the United States of America by providing election officials a form of identification, including valid government-issued photo identification, as provided by law. The state shall provide at least one form of such identification required to vote at no cost to any otherwise qualified citizen who does not already possess such identification and who desires the identification in order to vote. In the event that any political subdivision incurs costs to implement the requirements of this section, the state shall reimburse the political subdivision for such costs.
http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/s_default.asp?id=petitions
Actually, voter fraud (i.e., by voters, rather than by election officials), just isn’t a significant problem… it is a “solution” with serious disenfranchisement consequences in search of a problem. For example, there’s this study:
http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:POl1MzyVMiMJ:www.demos.org/pubs/analysis_voter_fraud.pdf+absentee+voter+fraud+greater+than+polling+place+voter+fraud&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us
and this article:
http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:CCBtOaTlsRwJ:www.prospect.org/cs/articles%3Farticle%3Dthe_fraud_of_voter_id_laws+absentee+voter+fraud+greater+than+polling+place+voter+fraud&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us
(I am aware that there are also supposed contrary studies; the Supreme Court argument recently acknowledged that proponents of the law the S.Ct. upheld had little or no evidence of widespread voter fraud in IN, which is my point.)
I agree with Robert that if the State of MO (unlike other states with similar laws) will make a usable i.d. actually free (i.e., readily available where people are, rather than, say, what GA did, and make state i.d.s available in inconvenient places that people would have to travel hundreds of miles to go). Hence, facially, I have no problem with the MO statute as set forth (though, I’d still like to see it voted down). What I’d really like to see is how implemented: if the only available way to get the “free i.d.” is, say, to travel to one window in an obscure office in Jefferson City, my point will be taken.
Finally, it is somewhat counterintuitive that illegal immigrants, who tend to be somewhat shy about placing themselves in the path of the government, would, at least in large numbers anyway, try to vote illegally, thus placing themselves front and center. Not saying it doesn’t happen of course… just that there’s no real evidence that it is happening in any significant numbers to warrant additional laws on the subject.